9.) A Small Pickup Truck

A small pickup like an older Dodge Dakota, Chevrolet S10, or a Ford Ranger can be a great option for a young gearhead, provide they can drive a truck safely. You can find them with almost any type of engine, automatic or manual gearbox, and two or four wheel drive.

8.) Volkswagen Golf (Mk4)

I didn't make any friends with the Volkswagen community when I put the Mk. IV Golf on our list of the ten worst german cars so let's call this a bit of a redemption. Reliability woes aside they're fun to drive without being too fast, and they have a great support community.

7.) Something Big And Old

Reader Andrew Neir bought a 1953 Pontiac Catalina Custom Coupe as his first car. While something big and old might not be the safest car for a young driver, they'll certainly learn a lot about maintenance and how to drive something that takes real skill.

6.) Porsche 924/944

A Porsche might not seem like a sensible choice for a teenager, a good 924 or 944 will be dead reliable, easy to work on, and beautifully balanced. Plus, 924s can be had for not a ton of money and the later 924S had a detuned 944 engine. Just avoid turbo versions of both.

5.) BMW 3-Series (E36)

The E36 generation 3-Series has modern safety features as well as a beautiful rear wheel drive chassis. My recommendation is the generally unloved 318ti – they're a lot cheaper than their sedan counterparts and have the added practicality of a hatchback. Personally, I think they look great as well.

2.) Subaru Impreza 2.5 RS

The Impreza 2.5 RS is a lot more attainable (and insurable) than a WRX for a teenage gearhead, but you still get some all wheel drive fun. I'll let our man Tavarish over at Car Buying explain why you need to buy one. Just make sure it's blue with gold wheels.

1.) Mazda Miata

This is Jalopnik. Did you expect us to put anything but the Miata as the best choice for a teenage gearhead? I'll let our resident Miata expert Travis explain why the Miata is so great if you're still not convinced.

"Like everyone else, I had prejudices against the Miata when my Dad suggested it as a first car. "It's a girls car!" and "It's too small!" were frequent refrains in my house. However, after researching Miatas, they started to make a modicum of sense. There isn't room to fit 20 people that can distract you. Girls love convertibles…it's a great date car (forget about missing a back seat)! And on a nice day, what's better than leaving high school with the top down and blasting some Huey Lewis? Also, since they're slow in a straight line and handle great, it's pretty tough to get in a crash."

Welcome back to Answers of the Day - our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best ten responses from the previous day's Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It's by you and for you, the Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!